Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young endorses Steve Kerr’s passionate plea for gun reform on Twitter, saying “enough is enough.”
For many Americans reeling from the news of the Uvalde school shooting, there’s the question of whether or not gun violence will intersect with their own lives if it hasn’t already.
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr experienced that moment in 1984, when his father, American University of Beirut president Malcolm Kerr, was shot and killed on campus. Regarding his death, Kerr once said the following:
“Before my father was killed, my life was impenetrable. Bad things happened to other people.”
Kerr’s own intersection with the tragedy of gun violence has made him a passionate advocate for a more just nation, one that puts an end to preventable gun violence. When Kerr took the podium after the Uvalde school shooting, he spoke angrily about a loss that could have been prevented with pending legislation.
“Well nothing’s happened with our team in the last six hours, we’re going to start the same way tonight. Any basketball questions don’t matter,” Kerr began. “Since we left shoot around, 14 children were killed 400 miles from here.” [There are now 21 confirmed victims: 19 children and 2 adults.]
“When are we going to do something?!” he said as he slammed the table. “I’m tired of getting up here and offering condolences to devastated families that are out there. I’m tired of moments of silence. Enough.”
From across the country, Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young endorsed Kerr’s message, saying that “enough is enough.”
“Listen to Coach Kerr!” he implored.
Trae Young joins Steve Kerr in call for gun reform to end gun violence in America
In 2020, Kerr spoke at the Harvard Kennedy School of Politics, elaborating on the intersection of sports and activism.
“Probably my number one social cause is gun safety and gun control. A lot of that has to do with losing my dad to gun violence,” Kerr said. “And a lot of that has to do with growing up here watching all of the violence, watching all of the school shootings, reading about them and knowing what all of those poor families are dealing with, because I went through the same thing with my family.”
For Young, this is also a personal cause: he has dedicated his NBA career to supporting children and adults dealing with mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, PTSD and bullying. These mental health issues commonly intersect with school shooting events, when children and young adults who are bullied have lashed out at their classmates, resulting in an unfathomable loss of life that generates PTSD for families and loved ones.
After the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, two former students died from an apparent suicide within a year of the shooting. A father of one of the students at Sandy Hook Elementary also died from an apparent suicide in early 2019.
Young is focused on bringing physical and mental well-being to the children in his hometown of Norman, OK, with the Young Family Athletic Center.
“I think having a great surrounding system in what you’re doing on a day-to-day basis can help you with your mental health,” Young told FanSided.
Young remains one of the most outspoken advocates for mental health and wellness, a message that is unfortunately all too pertinent in the wake of another tragic mass shooting that leaves a Texas community grieving.
